Why digestion slows down after 60
The meal has not changed. You have eaten steak your whole life, or eggs, or a piece of chicken, and somewhere in your sixties it started sitting in you for hours. Dr. Martin does not read that as a portion problem. He reads it as a breakdown problem.
Dr. Martin on what breaking food down needs:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1106You need good stomach acid.
He says it in the middle of answering someone who asked whether the body can only absorb 30 grams of protein at a sitting. He does not think much of that number. If you eat a steak you are getting more than 30 grams and yes, you absorb it. But then he adds the exception, and the exception is the whole point of this page.
Some people do have trouble absorbing protein.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1106They got no acid in their stomach.
The acid mix-up
Here is where he splits from what most people believe, and it matters because a lot of women over 60 are treating the opposite problem.
His position is that people assume they have too much acid because they have reflux. He says having reflux does not mean you have too much. He reads it the other way around: you do not have enough. The human stomach, he says, is meant to be more acidic than almost anything else out there, more acidic than a lion's, because we were built to break down meat.
He has a whole episode on the reflux question, and it is worth reading before you change anything you are doing: what do you recommend to reduce painful acid reflux and indigestion. Nothing here is a reason to stop anything a doctor has put you on. That is a conversation with them.
What the enzymes actually do
The second half of the answer is enzymes, and the first thing to know is that you already make them.
Dr. Martin on where enzymes come from:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1106Your body makes digestive enzymes, by the way, like lipase.
Then the plain definition, which is the one worth holding on to:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1106Lipase is an enzyme that breaks down fat.
His next sentence is the one that applies here. As you get older, he says, you have trouble. The machinery is the same, the output is not what it was.
He gives one practical example from the same answer. Someone asked whether taking a digestive enzyme would break down the DHA oil she takes after a meal. His answer was yes, and that this is good, because lipase breaking it down is what helps her absorb it. He said he takes them together on purpose, and that probiotics belong at the same meal rather than at a different time of day.
The B12 knock-on
This is the part that surprises people, and it is the reason digestion is not just a comfort question after 60.
Dr. Martin on what low acidity leads to:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1106Your stomach acid is not acidic enough and you get a deficiency usually in your B vitamins, especially b12.
Stomach acid is what gets B12 out of your food. Lower the acid and the B12 in the meal stays in the meal. He is careful with the word usually, and so is this page. He says it is not always that, it is usually that.
He has a whole episode on why so many people are low: why are people so low in B12.
The signs he looked for
Someone asked him what causes split nails. His answer was not about nails.
He said it usually comes back to the stomach acid, and that whenever he saw split nails he started at the stomach. Absorption and the breakdown of the food, with the acidity not high enough. Again, usually, not always.
That is a useful way to think about the whole cluster after 60. Heavy meals, bloating, brittle or splitting nails, low energy, low B12 on a blood test. He does not treat those as six separate problems. He treats them as one problem showing up in six places, which is why he starts where the food gets broken down and works outward.
What he suggests trying
Two things, both small.
The first is vinegar. A little apple cider vinegar or a little balsamic before you eat, a teaspoon or so, which he says helps.
The second, in his own summary:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1106I love digestive enzymes for that same reason.
That is him endorsing them for exactly this: acidity that is not high enough and food that is not getting broken down. Take it with the meal, not hours later, and give it long enough to tell whether it made a difference. If constipation is part of your picture too, he covers that in chronic constipation, what do I do.
Common questions
How do you improve digestion after 60?
He points at low stomach acid and fewer enzymes as the usual cause, and reaches for a digestive enzyme with meals. He also suggests a teaspoon of vinegar before eating.
Does stomach acid decrease with age?
He says yes, and he is clear that reflux usually means not enough acid rather than too much.
What does a digestive enzyme do?
It breaks food down. He names lipase as the one that handles fat, and says your body makes its own but has more trouble as you get older.
Can low stomach acid cause a B12 deficiency?
He says when the stomach is not acidic enough you usually end up deficient in B vitamins, B12 especially. Usually, he says, not always.
Why does meat feel heavy after 60?
He says some people have trouble absorbing protein because there is no acid in the stomach to break it down properly.
Read next: A Swollen Stomach After 60 Is Not Normal Aging and The Best Probiotic For A Woman Over 60, By Dr. Martin's Standard.
Help the meal break down
Ultra Digest-All is the digestive enzyme Martin Clinic makes for this, taken with food rather than hours after it.
60-day money-back guarantee. If reflux is your main complaint, read the reflux episode first and talk to your own doctor before changing anything you take.These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your healthcare practitioner before starting a new supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.
